Friday 3 April 2020

Not Meat Pies

I had loads of homemade crazy pastry leftover from my last recipe of minced meat pies.  Cousin Jenny back home in NZ came to my aid again.  She suggested samosas.  Some sort of small pie with potatoes, chickpeas and curry.  Well, guess what we cooked yesterday?  Chickpeas.  Tons of them.  I soak them overnight and cook them in the pressure cooker the next day.  Some we eat that day, the rest go in the freezer.  Supermarkets here do not have tins of chickpeas on their shelves.  We buy them raw, by the kilo.

So, I had the pastry and I had the chickpeas.  After a google search I got the gist of samosas and made my own.



We can get curry powder but not most of the other spices that seem to go into them.

I fried some onions, boiled some potatoes, mixed it all together with curry and chickpeas, rolled the pastry out thin and baked them, not fried.

There's one of them in the photo above, what else.

I made them quite small, two-bite size.  I can tell you they are really scrummy as a meze with a glass of wine or even a vodka and lemon, our lemons.

As for the vodka.  That came from Bulgaria via a friend whose daughter is up north studying at a University near the border.  He hops/hopped over for the border to Bulgaria now and again for cheap supplies.  K thought he had been given another bottle of raki.  Fortunately I squinted at the label, in Bulgarian, and realised it was a much more precious liquid.  K's raki supply is essential for his mental health during these troubled times, well now I have something to boost my spirits too.  



19 comments:

  1. I used to soak chickpeas (garbanzos) and then pressure cook them when we lived in Tenerife. So glad I can now get them tinned!!

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    1. I would use tinned too if we had them though my traditional person might complain. At least I can boil a kilo of them and have them in packets already boiled in the freezer

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  2. The samosas look good. Another string to your cooking bow Linda.

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    1. Surprising how tasty they were with not much at all inside them. They definitely needed the curry to give them some taste. Even traditional husband wolfed them down

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  3. Well done on both the samosas and the votka:) I find that one of the few good things in this overall bad-ness is culinary creativity. Need really is the best master https://helpincoronatimes.wordpress.com/2020/03/29/good-things-about-bad-things/

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    1. Chickpeas are just cooked in our house with onion and lemon juice. Not much variety or taste. These were great

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  4. Hooray for a bottle for you!!!!! -grin-

    And also hooray for making your own chick peas. They were missing from our shelves too, at this time. But found another source.

    {{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}
    💧🌷🌱 💦🌱🌷💧

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    1. We buy all our lentils, dried beans and chickpeas by the kilo which means they need overnight soaking and often long cooking. At least if I boil them in bulk we have plenty for other times.

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  5. yum I love chickpeas they are a good protein and we are able to buy them in cans here, I buy at least 2 cans every week.

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    1. I used to make chickpea curry bit haven't done so for ages. I used coconut milk which made a difference to the taste. That is not on our essential shopping list. I think I'll ask the girls to look for a can. Not always easy to find either.

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  6. I am lazy and buy tins of chickpeas.

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    1. Good on you! I would too IF i lived alone and IF we could buy them in cans. I think they are available in athens supermarkets. If I ever find them I'll buy a tin to try

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  7. I have never tried samosas but they sound interesting and tasty. The vodka I have tried, and enjoyed, but haven't had any for several years now. Maybe next summer!

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    1. The first time I saw a samosa was in a New World supermarket years ago. I cant remember if I bought one to try. I've always wanted to taste one but didnt realise they were so easy till my cousin emialed me

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  8. Our Chickpeas come in tins, and are used for Moroccan Tagines and Hummus exclusively. I used to buy Samosas back in the UK, and they always contained mostly Potato with a few Peas; perhaps they were veggie.

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    1. These samosas were rather nice, specially for a first try. The curry made the difference, a bit of heat

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  9. I remember when my 40 year old son turned 6, he asked for samosas for his birthday dinner. I make them using commercial puff pastry, which is, thankfully, now pre-rolled. Much easier! I sometimes make samosas if I have a little leftover lamb to use up. I always serve them with chutney for dipping.

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    1. Oh boy do I prefer shop bought puff pastry. I used to buy it but it's so darn expensive now I learnt to make my own.
      My daughter just made some with beef and a chutney dip. Wish I had thought of the chutney!

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  10. I love vegetable samosas! yum

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